London cabbies are being trained in counter-terrorism

Black cab drivers are already pretty special individuals, with such an extensive knowledge of London’s streets that the process of learning it literally changes the shape of their brains. Now they’re taking things up a notch by training as first responders to emergencies like terrorism, acid attacks and medical crises.

The Mytaxi cab-hailing app is teaching 17,500 drivers first aid and CPR, how to respond to terrorist attacks and deescalate threatening situations, and extra people skills like active listening and body language. The scheme, called ‘The Knowledge+’, could end up putting a new wave of first responders on London’s streets. And yes, they’ll go south of the river.